


abyss

by hereruha



Category: Jrock, the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mermaids, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Drama, Hybrids, M/M, Merman!Ruki, Possible smut, Prince!Reita, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform, Witchcraft, Yaoi, alternative universe, mermaid, merman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-06-02 20:19:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereruha/pseuds/hereruha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruki's caught in a fishnet and imprisoned. The only way he can possibly get out and go back to his realm is to help a prince in need, but his hatred for human nature might get in the way of his liberty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

He couldn’t believe it, he really couldn’t. How could he get caught? How didn’t he see that coming? He should have known better than to approach the coast. They hadn’t even thought about his well being, they had captured him and directly thrown him into what seemed to be a cell. There wasn’t any water in here. He could feel the sharp cobblestones under him, scraping his tail, surely damaging his dark purple and black scales. He could also feel the stones under his elbows, making them slightly bleed as he tried to prop himself up. Who had even captured him? He didn’t know this place, nor did he know those men who had thrown a net on him. He had tried to escape, but his tail had been caught in the net, preventing him from moving. He already knew that people wouldn’t look for him, who would after all? Being the son of a merman and a sea witch was too much for them to deal with. He had been able to live amongst other mermaids and mermen only because his father actually was a royal advisor, but even him had seemed to slowly care less about the young hybrid. Him disappearing would be a relief for these people, not a worry.

He heard footsteps and soon two men came into his field of vision. They both stood on the other side of the bars, their eyes roaming shamelessly over his body.

He already knew one of them, he was one of those who had caught him. It was a tall man with black hair tied back in a tail, his dark eyes were set on the hybrid as he squirmed on the ground, trying to make himself more comfortable. He had a lip piercing and tattoos on his arms. He wasn’t interesting in the hybrid’s eyes, the sea creature only resented him for taking him away from the sea, his home.

However, he knew nothing about the other one. He was tall, not as tall as the other, but still, he also was quite muscular, although finely. He had amber eyes framed with black eye shadow, and bleached-blond hair. What disturbed the hybrid was that the man had a mask covering a part of his face, which gave him a certain mysterious side, although the blond merman could have called it stupid too. The man could have been considered as attractive, he had the looks and the mysterious aura, but the merman would never admit such a thing, he hated human beings after all, he couldn’t possibly consider one of them as handsome.

“Why didn’t you put him in water?” the bleached blond asked.

“Is it needed?” the other frowned.

“Are you stupid? He’s a merman, he needs water to live.”

“I heard stories about mermaids getting legs, so why wouldn’t he change?” replied the black-haired man, wincing as he was scolded.

The hybrid bit his lower lip as he heard his gaoler’s words. It was also something that was talked about among his species, but none of them had experienced it, so they considered it a legend. His mother had legs, but that was only because she wasn’t a mermaid. Maybe he could get legs, after all he could use magic thanks to his origins…

What the hell was he even thinking? Never would he get legs, he would be ashamed of being like those filthy and greedy humans, he’d rather die than give in.

“So, can you turn into a human?” asked the man.

The merman hissed in response, showing his sharp teeth.

He was part of a feared merman species that could be compared to sharks, though they didn’t have tails and fins like them. However some of his kind were known to actually attack other mermaids to feed. He never had tried cannibalism, he considered it as barbaric, and he didn’t want to be associated with those people. But his sharp teeth proved that he was like them, he couldn’t possibly hide it, unfortunately. He couldn’t even hide the fact that he was a hybrid, having a tattoo between his shoulder blades, the symbol of his mother’s family.

“Does he even speak our language?” questioned the blond human, his eyebrows furrowed.

The merman scoffed in response. _Of course I understand you, dumbass_ , he thought, glaring at the man. Did humans really know nothing about mermen?

“I think he does, he’s mocking you,” snorted the other.

“Don’t get too comfortable around me, don’t forget that I can get you killed in a second, Tora,” growled the blond as the other quickly apologised.

The hybrid blinked repeatedly at that. Who was that man? Somehow his behaviour reminded him of his own realm, of one of the princes. He would snap his fingers and get someone killed on a whim, nobody would say anything, not wanting to be the next one on the scaffold.

“Your eyes are something different.”

He looked up at the bleached blond to lock eyes with him. He knew he had different eyes, they somehow had sparks in them, if that could make sense. It had something to do with his sea witch-side, again. His mother always told him that it was magic that did that to him, only creatures with magic could have eyes like his, though not all of them did.

“Open the door,” ordered the human.

The black-haired man did what he was asked to, although reluctantly. The hybrid hissed and crawled away as the man entered the cell. He had to stop when he bumped into a wall, wincing in pain.

“You’re only hurting yourself more,” sighed the masked blond.

“Get away from me,” snarled the blond merman.

The man stared at him with wide eyes before chuckling lightly.

“At least this made you speak,” he smiled.

“I’ve nothing to do with humans like you,” growled the other, still trying to move away as the bleached-blond man reached out his right hand to him.

“Come on, I’ll put you in some water, wouldn’t it be more comfortable?”

“My prince, it’s useless, he doesn’t want your help,” spoke up Tora, not moving from his spot near the door.

The merman gaped at the blond. So he was indeed a prince. This made his help even less wanted, he didn’t want to have anything to do with royalty, he hated it in his own realm, it wouldn’t be any better on the ground.

“You shouldn’t have captured him in the first place,” sighed the prince.

“Don’t put the blame on us, my prince, you were the one to ask for a mermaid. We didn’t get a female, but well…”

“What do filthy humans like you want from me?” he groaned.

“Stop insulting our prince like that, he only wants to help if you haven’t noticed yet,” retorted the black-haired man.

The hybrid huffed in response, looking away as he ran his fingers through his blond locks. Maybe that prince should just execute him, it would put an end to all his troubles. A creature like him should never have been born, shark-mermaids were already considered as freaks, being a sea witch as well made it even worse for him.

“People always want something in return, and you captured me, so you definitely want something from me, just spit it out,” sighed the hybrid.

The prince heaved a sigh and looked at the black-haired man before turning back to the merman.

“I’m sick. According to my doctors, I don’t have any chance of recovery,” he explained.

“What does it have to do with me?” asked the hybrid, warily.

“There’s a rumour.”

He raised an eyebrow, a rumour? Human beings really had to invent things all the time. What would it be this time? Decades ago, people thought that a mermaid’s fin was the perfect remedy. It couldn’t be that such rumour had remained for so long?

“It is said that mermaids can save people when they are on the verge of death,” continued the bleached blond.

“What makes you think it’s true?” frowned the other, stroking his tail to try to make the pain go.

The prince looked down at those words. There indeed was no proof, but he wanted to believe that he would be saved. He was his parents’ only child, they never had managed to get another one, he couldn’t die, not now.

The hybrid sighed and looked at his tail. It was covered in cuts, if he didn’t do something quickly, they would get infected, which could lead to his own death. He knew what the bleached-blond prince was talking about, and he knew that it actually was true, but there was one condition for it to work, and it wasn’t easy.

“You’re right, we can save one person in our life,” he finally said.

The masked man looked up, his eyes gleaming with hope at those words.

“But you picked the worst merman you could ever find,” he smirked, finally managing to sit.

“Why?” frowned the other.

“There’s one condition for this to work.”

“What is it?” asked the prince, crouching in front of the merman.

“You need to make me fall in love with you,” explained the hybrid, smiling smugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is a new fic, ahah. I started it in Düsseldorf actually, but only decided to continue it now, two months after.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The raven-haired man by the door had burst into laughter while the prince had gaped at the blond creature.

“You can laugh as much as you want, this is the only way you’ll get one of us to save your life,” said the hybrid, glaring at Tora. “If you don’t believe it, it’s not my problem, it’s your life that’s at stake after all, not mine.”

“You know we could just kill you and get another mermaid, right?” asked the raven-haired human.

“So?” the blond cocked an eyebrow, folding his arms.

That’s when he noticed that something was missing. He looked down at his upper body and arms before looking back up at the two humans, baring his sharp teeth. Both of them took a step back, taken aback by the sudden hostility the hybrid showed.

“Where are my jewels?” he snarled.

“Jewels?” frowned the masked blond, looking sideways at Tora, not knowing what the merman was talking about. He noticed how the raven suddenly seemed nervous, his eyes looking everywhere but at the prince or the sea creature. “Tora, do you know what he’s talking about?” asked the bleached-blond man, turning his back to the merman to face the man.

“Of course he does, he’s part of those who caught me,” growled the hybrid.

The prince heard a thump behind him but didn’t pay attention to it, his eyes set on the raven-haired male. Said man sighed and shrugged.

“Those were just jewels, he doesn’t need them,” he explained, looking away.

“I swear you’re asking to be killed.”

The bleached-blond human startled, looking to his left to see the hybrid crawling next to him, faster than one would think he could on the ground like this. Before the prince could even react, the blond creature had the black-haired man on the ground, hovering over him, his sharp teeth dangerously close to his neck. Tora tried to get away from the other, but it was impossible, he had noticed it earlier, mermen were heavy, most likely because of their long tails, and there was no way he’d be able to push him away.

“I don’t see where’s the problem,” he managed to utter, he had a hard time breathing with the pressure the other applied on him.

“Those aren’t just jewels to me, get it?” retorted the hybrid as he grabbed the other’s throat, his claws scraping at the man’s skin. “You better get them back to me or I swear, you humans will regret it.”

“We will get them back, don’t worry about that,” intervened the prince.

The blond turned his head to look at the masked prince, still wary about him. There was something in the man that disturbed him, but seeing the honesty in the other’s amber eyes, he decided to let go of the raven.

He moved off the man, his eyes not leaving the prince for a second. He was hiding something, the hybrid was pretty sure of that. He couldn’t tell what, but he was sure the prince had a secret.

“Now, let me take you to some other place, you need water,” sighed the prince, relieved.

“Not until I get my jewels back.”

“I can bring them to you there,” frowned the bleached-blond man.

“I don’t believe you, you might just take me to a place worse than this one. Humans aren’t to be trusted,” retorted the hybrid, crawling back into the cell.

He could feel how his tail and arms were throbbing in pain, but he just couldn’t let himself be taken to a place worse than this one. He had heard stories about mermaids being fooled by humans before, he wouldn’t be one of those. He would at some point let the prince believe that he had a chance with him, so he would be able to at least get out of the cell and get a better place, but that wouldn’t happen, not until the prince had proved his worth. Bringing the hybrid his jewels back would be a start, a good one at that.

He sighed, leaning against the wall behind him. He actually needed water in order to heal properly, but he just couldn’t put aside his hatred for the human nature. He was giving hope to the prince by telling him that he had a chance to survive by making him fall in love with him, but there was no way the hybrid would fall for a human being. They were filthy, greedy creatures, they had hunted down his people for centuries, tortured them, massacred them. This hatred deeply rooted in his heart was old, it went back to generations before his.

“I will bring your jewels back, I promise,” said the prince, slightly bowing before the merman.

The blond quirked up an eyebrow at the gesture, since when did princes bow in front of commoners? He felt a weird pang at his heart but decided to ignore it, assuming it must have been the pain from his injuries.

“And I will send someone to check your injuries, your tail needs to be treated.”

On those words the masked blond walked out of the cell, disappearing in the dimly lit hall. The hybrid scoffed, folding his arms. He still couldn’t believe he had been reckless enough to get caught by humans.

“You better not try to play him, you’d lose your head.”

He looked up at the raven-haired human. He had closed the door but was still there, staring at the hybrid.

“We are monsters to you, but you are to humans too, don’t forget that. We know what a mermaid’s voice can do to other creatures, there are enough stories about it to be sure of this at least,” continued Tora.

The blond didn’t reply, only staring defiantly back at the other.

“You also should think carefully about what you’ll do next.”

The hybrid only snorted.

“If the prince dies, you won’t like the outcome. His uncle will be the heir then, as the king and the queen don’t have any other child, and that man has other projects for merpeople. You definitely want to think about your people’s safety before taking any rash decision,” smirked the raven.

The blond merman froze, his eyes widening.

“You really would have to deal with a monster then,” ended the man, waving his hand as he walked away, leaving the prisoner alone.

The hybrid muffled a scream of despair with his hands, tears rolling down his cheeks, as the situation dawned upon him. He let his body slide down the wall to the side, lying on the cold, cobblestoned ground.

Maybe he didn’t feel at home among merpeople, but he still came from there, he still cared about them and their safety. How was he supposed to save them when he knew that his hatred for humans would get in the way of the only way he had to secure their future? The prince had to live, that was unquestionable, but he knew how everything worked. A mermaid _**really**_ had to be in love with the other to be able to save him, it had to be genuine feelings, faking them would only make things turn out ugly.

He closed his eyes, groaning in pain. Never had he thought he would have to sacrifice himself and everything he believed in to save those people who despised him for his nature.

✡✡✡

The blond hybrid was woken up by a hand warily touching his shoulder, slightly shaking him. His eyes snapped open when he remembered where he was and he pushed away the person, hissing threateningly.

“It’s only me.”

He looked up at the other’s face and finally noticed that it actually was the prince. He had a small canvas bag in his hands and faintly smiled at the hybrid.

“I told you I would get them back,” he said, holding out the bag to him.

The merman quickly snatched it away from the other’s hands and opened it, sighing in relief when he saw his jewels.

“I see no one dared to come down here to take care of you though,” said the prince, seemingly disappointed by that.

“Humans are stupid, what did you expect?” muttered the hybrid, slowly putting on each piece of jewellery.

“We’re not that bad,” chuckled the masked blond.

“You’ll have to prove it then,” retorted the other, putting the last silver armband on his left bicep.

The prince didn’t answer and the hybrid couldn’t care less, he wasn’t even bothered by how the other seemed to stare at him so intensely. He knew all those jewels would raise questions, other merfolk didn’t wear as much as he did, but those were needed, he didn’t wear them as simple ornaments.

He carefully looked over his body, nothing was missing. He finally put a silver chain around his waist, it had an elegantly tear-carved onyx stone that dangled in the middle, right at his bellybutton.

“What are these for?” asked the prince, curiously staring at all the pieces of jewellery.

“Maybe I’ll tell you someday,” trailed off the hybrid, looking down at his tail now.

“Would you let me take you to another room now? It’s far better than this place,” said the bleached-blond human.

The blond merman pondered for awhile, although he knew he shouldn’t hesitate too much about it. He needed water, and the prince had told him he would put him in it, for once he would maybe let himself trust a human being.

“How would you take me there though?” frowned the hybrid, now thinking about another issue: he was heavy for humans.

“Don’t worry about that,” smiled the prince. “Though I want to know something first.”

His eyebrows knitted together.

“Your name,” continued the man.

“I don’t know yours though,” replied the hybrid.

“Reita,” directly answered the prince, crouching in front of the merman. “Now, what about yours?” he asked.

The blond sighed heavily, although he couldn’t stop a smile from slightly creeping onto his face.

“Ruki,” he whispered.

“Well then, Ruki, let’s take you to a better place,” said Reita, taking the hybrid in his arms.

The merman gaped at the bleached-blond masked man, where did that strength come from? There definitely was something the other hid, never had he heard of humans being capable of such strength, he would normally be crushed under his weight right now, he knew it, Tora hadn’t managed to escape after all.

He stared at the other’s face as he walked down the hall to a staircase. He might hate human beings, but this man right here, made him curious, he wanted to know more about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! As my exams are now over and that I actually passed my German one, I have time to write again, and the first I wrote is this! I have strong Reituki feels right now so you mgiht now get any update of Kuchizuke or Without a Trace, but I'll see later~~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I tried to make it as long and I managed so that's good! Tell me what you think what Reita might be hiding, and what are all those jewels for, because really, Ruki is covered in them. Arms, earrings, waist, necklace... hehe.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	3. Chapter Two

The blond flipped upside down, staring at the prince who was sitting just at the edge of the water, his legs crossed. This room seemed to have been created just for the purpose of hosting a sea creature, the hybrid was currently swimming in a swimming pool filled with seawater, in one of the palace’s towers. He could look through the windows and see what was outside the palace if he wanted, but right now he was more focused on the prince who didn’t tear his eyes away from him.

They hadn’t spoken more after leaving the cell, well, the blond prince had tried, but the hybrid couldn’t make himself answer him, he didn’t want to anyway. Maybe the other intrigued him, but that didn’t mean he was ready to trust a human, he never would be ready for such a thing. Swimming up to the surface, he locked eyes with the masked man.

“You have gills,” said the prince, finally noticing how the other’s appearance had slightly changed when he had entered the seawater.

The hybrid scoffed, folding his arms.

“Of course, that’s the only way I can breathe underwater,” explained Ruki. “They just seem to disappear when I’m on dry land.”

Reita hummed in response, his stare now set upon the water that slightly rippled around the merman. The movements of his tail were so subtle that he could barely see them. The hybrid truly did look better now that he was in seawater, his wounds had already fully healed, although the prince wasn’t sure if that was only due to the water. He had noticed the tattoo in the other’s back, and never had he ever heard of merpeople having tattoos. Maybe it meant something more, the same way his eyes did.

“You know, you shouldn’t stay here,” said the blond sea creature.

“Why?” frowned the prince, locking eyes with him again.

“I could easily drown you now that I’m back into seawater,” smirked Ruki, running his left hand through his hair.

Reita stared at him, wondering if the other truly meant what he said. Would he really try to drown him? He knew that if Ruki wanted, he could start singing and compel him to do whatever he wanted, but the masked blond didn’t think the other would do something that reckless. His life was at stake too here, if he tried anything to harm the prince, he would be punished, and if he were to die at Ruki’s hand, then the hybrid definitely would be executed.

“But I’m not stupid, I know you’re the only reason I’m still alive,” sighed the blond, turning his back to the prince.

He swam to the other edge of the pool and looked outside the window, discovering for the first time what the human world looked like. What he saw from the sea didn’t let him know much, but now that he was in the palace, he could perfectly see how the world had changed. He had never seen the human world with his own eyes, but his people had stories about how it used to look like, as well as engravings in some of the caves that clearly showed it.

“You’ve never been on dry land before?” asked Reita, his stare set on the hybrid’s tattoo.

He had noticed how the blond had slightly pushed himself up on the edge of the swimming pool, right in front the floor-to-ceiling window, to stare outside. Ruki looked like a child who discovered something for the very first time, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The merman let go of the edge quickly, now only noticing how eager he must have appeared to discover the outside world. He didn’t turn around to face the prince, his stare was set on his tail that slowly waved underwater.

“No, I’ve spent my whole life in my kingdom,” he replied, noticing how the room was getting darker, the sun setting quickly.

“Would you like to go to the city sometime?”

Ruki was about to answer he couldn’t in his current state when it dawned upon him that if he said that, it would only mean that he wanted to, that he had an interest in the human world. He indeed had one, but he couldn’t let the prince know that, he couldn’t let anyone discover it.

Among merpeople he was known for his hatred of the humankind. Surprisingly enough, not many still hated humans that much and the young hybrid had no idea why. It seemed as if they had slowly forgiven human beings for what they had done in the past, maybe he should have let it go too, but his family had been one of the biggest victims in the human hunts, he couldn’t just forgive the people who had slaughtered numerous members of his family in cold blood.

“No,” he decided to shortly reply.

The masked blond shook his head and shrugged in defeat. He knew what the other was doing, he knew that Ruki just didn’t want to admit that there actually was something in the human world that had triggered his attention. The prince had no idea what had happened to the hybrid, but he guessed humans were somehow responsible, thus he couldn’t possibly push him too much, it would only weaken his chances to win him over and be saved.

“I know you hate humans, but don’t you think we might have changed?” asked Reita, scratching the back of his head.

“ _ **‘** Might’_ is the keyword here, I don’t think any of you changed, you’re just better at hiding your true intentions,” retorted the hybrid, turning around to lock eyes with the other.

The prince only hummed in response, slowly standing up.

“I’d have appreciated you joining me and my family for dinner, but if you can’t change form I guess this won’t be possible,” sighed Reita, smoothing his shirt with his fingertips.

Ruki didn’t answer, only biting his bottom lip in order to hold back a scathing remark. He knew he had to control his mouth if he wanted to keep his head.

“My parents don’t know about you and I will keep it that way as long as I can,” continued the prince.

“Why?” frowned the merman, tilting his head to the side.

“The lesser people know about you, the better. Servants won’t talk about you so you don’t need to worry about those who’ll come here,” replied Reita, walking away. “Someone will bring you food, just don’t scare them off with your teeth.”

Ruki snorted, the idea awfully tempting to him. He waved his hand dismissively to the prince before diving into the water.

Something bothered the hybrid as he swam around the pool, humming softly under water. The prince was supposed to be sick, as in deadly sick, from what he had understood. Reita was supposed to be very ill, for the doctors had told him they had tried everything they knew and couldn’t cure him, but Ruki hadn’t noticed even a hint of a disease in the other. He was strong, stronger than a normal human being, his complexion was healthy-looking too, he didn’t appear to be sickly pale. The merman would have normally never believed a human in this case, but there was something in Reita’s eyes that made Ruki doubt his own convictions. Those amber eyes, although they sparkled with some sort of amusement and life, held desperation. The masked blond was this close to giving up, the hybrid could see it. Ruki considered human beings as two-faced people who only thought about themselves, but he wasn’t sure about it anymore, not after meeting the prince.

“You shouldn’t even think about him,” he murmured, running his left hand over his face.

As time went by, a scowl had twisted the hybrid’s face. He couldn’t make up his mind, he didn’t know whether he was ready to help or not. He definitely was curious, it was what had brought him here after all, getting near the coast had come out of a whim and his curiosity to see more had made him stay longer than he should have. But letting a human prince in… That was something else. He wanted to know more about Reita, but to know more about him he would have to open himself up.

A knock on the door made him dive back into the water in surprise. He slowly peaked over the edge of the swimming pool and observed the person that had just got in. His shining, blue eyes didn’t leave the girl’s figure as she warily approached the pool with a tray in her hands.

“My prince apologies, he doesn’t know what your people eat,” she said, looking away from the piercing orbs.

She put down the tray of food in front of him and quickly took a few steps back, bowing slightly, before getting out of the room without even letting him say a word. The hybrid cocked an eyebrow but ended up ignoring the human girl’s behaviour. He guessed it wasn’t very often that humans were faced with creatures like him.

He looked at the food and frowned, he had no idea what it was. How was he supposed to eat something he’d never seen? What he usually ate were fish and some plants, but he couldn’t deny that what was in front of him smelled good.

He looked up again towards the door when he heard it open, although this time it was a familiar person who walked in.

“They only came now or you didn’t eat yet?” asked Reita, noticing the tray still untouched.

“I don’t know how to eat that,” mumbled the hybrid, hoping the other hadn’t heard him.

The prince stared at the merman, dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected such an answer. He didn’t know what merpeople ate, but he thought that they had something similar to cutlery too.

“Don’t get me wrong, I know what those are,” said Ruki, taking a fork and a knife in his hands. “I just never used those, only royalty and royal advisors do. Commoners don’t, and me even less,” sighed the hybrid, putting them down.

“What do you usually eat then? And how? You can’t just swallow things like that,” frowned Reita, sitting opposite the sea creature.

“I’ve those teeth for a reason,” groaned Ruki, looking away.

The masked blond didn’t reply anything, noticing that there was something about his nature that the merman seemed to dislike. He couldn’t tell what it was, but he already had had the feeling that he wouldn’t be easy to get. He was the worst he could find after all, wasn’t he? That’s what he had told Reita earlier.

“It’s not complicated,” ended up saying the prince, grabbing the cutlery. “You need to hold them this way, and then it just comes naturally,” he continued, showing the other how to cut the meat.

He noticed how Ruki observed his every move, but he preferred not to raise it. He already had figured out that all this was new to the blond sea creature, if he had to teach him how things worked on dry land, he would. This way he would also get to know him, maybe.

He held out the fork to the other, offering the man a piece of meat.

“I guess you never had lamb before if you never were on dry land,” said Reita, watching as Ruki hesitantly parted his lips.

He nodded in encouragement and waited for the hybrid’s reaction has he chewed on the piece of meat.

“This tastes even better than I thought,” uttered Ruki after swallowing, his eyes widening as he noticed what he had said.

“Good, I’m glad you at least like something from the dry land,” quickly said the prince, a smile stretching his slightly plump lips, not wanting the other to have a chance to take back what he had just said.

The hybrid huffed and snatched the cutlery away from the other’s hands, trying to cut the meat the same way the prince had done it. He definitely would need to practice a bit, but he would manage.

“How are you going to sleep though?” asked Reita, remembering why he had come here now in the first place.

Ruki froze, looking at his plate that was now empty. The other things on the plate were vegetable as Reita had explained to him, which pretty much corresponded to the plants he ate in the sea. So far, he had to admit that eating something warm had been a surprise, but a good one, and he couldn’t deny the fact that the food tasted amazing. With only this, he maybe would come to believe some of the rumours that spread through merpeople.

“Don’t bother about that,” he finally replied, putting down the cutlery and swimming away from the prince, setting some distance between them. “You should go, the moon is already high in the sky, it must be late for humans. Moreover, aren’t you sick? You should rest instead of giving yourself a headache with me.”

Reita slightly gaped at the sea creature that was turning his back to him at the moment. Was he just trying to get rid of him, or was he actually truly worried about his health? He doubted it was that, there was still this wariness in the other’s moves and eyes, there was no way he would feel anything but despise for humans for now. He was still a prisoner after all, no matter how Reita had tried to make it comfortable for the other with this room and the swimming pool filled with seawater, Ruki wasn’t considered as a guest, not yet at least.

“I’ll come tomorrow morning then,” he said, standing up, taking the tray with him at the same time. “Good night, Ruki.”

“Good night…” whispered the hybrid, closing his eyes, as he disappeared underwater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to end this chapter! Damn it took me so long, I just didn't manage before for some reason.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm trying not to rush things tbh. What do you think so far?
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

Three weeks. Ruki had a hard time believing it, but it had already been three weeks since he was caught. Had his situation changed? Not so much. He was still in the same room, seeing the same faces every day. None of the servants dared talk to him, they would come in the room, trying to make as little noise as possible, set the tray of food down near the edge of the pool, trying as much as possible not to meet the hybrid’s eyes, and then they would quickly leave. Most of the time the prince would come while Ruki ate and they would talk, he basically was the only person the hybrid had contact with.

The merman had gotten to know more about Reita and so had the prince about him. Reita wasn’t like the princes in Ruki’s realm, he wasn’t haughty, he cared about people, even the help, or so it seemed. They both had talked about their childhood, the prince more than the sea creature, as well as how things had changed for both of them once they had reached a certain age, although Ruki had kept most of it to himself, again. Getting to know all this about the masked man didn’t necessarily mean that Ruki trusted him, or even believed him. Admittedly, the hybrid had taken a liking in the bleached-blond human by hearing all this, and he hated it. He couldn’t deny that there was something about the man that made him curious, but at the same time he wasn’t quite sure what to think, as he still had the feeling that Reita was hiding something.

Swimming to the window, the hybrid crossed his arms over the edge of the swimming pool, looking outside. He wasn’t sure what time it was, it had been raining for what seemed to be hours, the sky covered with black clouds. What he knew, though, was that Reita was late. The prince would usually come in the morning and in the afternoon to talk, and sometimes he would also come in the evening, although that was quite occasional. Today however, the masked blond hadn’t come yet.

Now that Ruki thought about it, the servant was late. He maybe didn’t know what time it was, but he usually never got hungry, which he was right now. Servants always came at the same time so he had gotten used to eating at certain hours.

He turned around when he heard the door being opened, slightly smiling despite himself and already swimming towards the other side of the pool to meet the newcomer, but he wasn’t met with the usual sight of the prince. Instead a man he had never seen before came in, carrying a tray of food. The hybrid frowned, not quite sure who the man was. Reita had told him that he had seen all the people who could come in the room, so who was this man?

“My my, so this is what Reita’s been hiding,” chuckled the man, crouching down elegantly to set down the tray on the floor, near the edge of the pool.

Ruki slowly swam to the opposite side of the pool, looking warily at the other, not wanting to be close to him. He had a bad feeling. The man was tall, actually taller than Reita if Ruki remembered well how the prince was. Shoulder-length, honey-blond hair framed a face that seemed to have been carved by the gods. His rosy, bow-shaped lips were stretched into a smirk, deep brown eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief as he didn’t let the hybrid out of his sight.

“Where’s Reita?” asked Ruki.

The other rolled his eyes, a hand on his hip.

“Who knows?” hummed the honey blond.

The hybrid wasn’t quite sure what it was that the man wore, but it wasn’t like Reita’s clothes. It looked similar to a robe Reita had once worn when he had come to Ruki in the middle of the night. The prince supposedly couldn’t sleep, but how he had guessed Ruki wouldn’t be asleep, that the blond merman couldn’t fathom. However, he hadn’t seen the bleached-blond man wearing that during the day. What the honey blond was currently wearing didn’t exactly look like that robe either, it looked way dressier. He could only guess it wasn’t the same kind of clothing.

Ruki shook his head, looking one last time at the honey blond before diving into the water. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t need to talk to the man if he didn’t want to. He would normally have sung and made the other leave, but he had promised Reita not to use his power, and for some unknown, ridiculous reason, he didn’t want to break that promise. He just hoped the honey blond would get the message and actually walk out of the room.

“I won’t leave,” said the man, his voice kind of muffled as Ruki was still underwater.

The hybrid groaned, rolling his eyes. Why were humans so stubborn? Reita was like that too. Sometimes the blond sea creature just wasn’t in the mood to talk or to listen to someone, but when that happened, Reita would just sit there, smiling mysteriously. In the end Ruki would get so annoyed that he would swim up to the surface to yell at the prince, but the masked blond would just burst into laughter at the face Ruki made, and that laughter would make the hybrid lose it too, both then being lost in a laughing fit. Ruki wasn’t quite sure what made him react that way, it only happened with one person back home and he had known him since he was a child, which probably was the reason why he used to be comfortable around him. But Reita… He couldn’t fathom what it was that made him want to trust the prince.

The hybrid swam to the surface and sighed when he noticed the man’s smirk turn even more wicked. What was the matter with him? Why did he absolutely want to talk to Ruki?

“What do you want?” groaned the blond hybrid, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You,” replied the honey blond, kneeling down.

Ruki frowned, not quite sure what that meant.

“I want to know why you’re here.”

“I don’t need to answer that, you don’t even have the right to be here,” retorted the merman. “Reita told me who could come in, and you’re not among these people.”

“How would you know that? You haven’t been out of your pool as far as I know,” said the man, his eyebrows slowly knitting together.

“So? It doesn’t mean I’m not aware of what’s going on.”

“Is that so? From what I can see you have no idea who I am though, and I’m important to Reita,” responded the other, his eyes gleaming with some sort of pride, although the hybrid didn’t understand it.

“Important? How come I’ve never heard of you then? He never described anyone like you before, I’ve no idea who you are. And he didn’t tell you why I’m here either, so that must mean that he doesn’t trust you all that much,” replied Ruki, smirking as he noticed the disbelief on the other’s face.

“I’m sure he mentioned me at least once!”

“Not at all, we talk a lot and you never came up even once in our conversations.”

The honey-blond man quickly stood up, glaring at the sea creature.

“You’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” he groaned.

Ruki only cocked an eyebrow in response.

“I’m the one healing him, he must have talked about me. Without me he would be dead already,” continued the honey blond.

The blond merman stared blankly at the other, not knowing what to think about what the human had just said. Healing Reita? What did the other mean by that? The prince had told Ruki that he was his last hope, that nothing had worked for him. If there was indeed no cure, why would this man say he actually was helping the masked blond?

Ruki sighed, shaking his head. He knew Reita was hiding something, he had had that feeling since the very beginning. He didn’t expect it to be a person, but in the end he wasn’t really surprised. Mystified maybe, but not surprised. After all, why did the prince need him if he already had someone?

“I’ve no idea who you are, now get out,” said the hybrid, turning his back to the other.

“You can’t order me around,” huffed the honey blond.

“Indeed, I can’t, but I think you know very well what mermaids can do, so if you don’t obey I’ll just make you,” retorted Ruki, looking over his shoulder to glare at the other.

“I’m a witch, you won’t scare me with that,” said the man, smiling smugly. “I could make this water boiling hot in the blink of an eye, you wouldn’t look this good afterwards.”

The merman turned around, smirking.

“Try me,” he shot back.

The honey blond gaped at him for a split second before regaining his composure. His eyes turned golden for a moment and he snapped his fingers, staring in the hybrid’s blue eyes. As time went by, his smug grin slowly faltered, letting place to disbelief.

“If you had made a little research about witches, you’d know what this means,” Ruki said, pointing at the tattoo in his back. “Witches don’t only live on dry land.”

The honey-blond man ran his hand over his face, groaning in frustration.

“No matter what, you’re still just a toy to Reita,” he said before turning on his heels. “He can hide whatever he wants from you as long as you’re stuck in this swimming pool, you have no idea what you got yourself into,” he ended, glancing one last time at the sea creature before leaving.

The honey blond obviously wasn’t telling Ruki anything new, but it made the hybrid wonder what the prince really was up to. There must have been a hidden motive for him to keep the merman here, something that had nothing to do with his illness, but what could that even be? From what he knew, Ruki just couldn’t even imagine something. No matter what, he knew Reita was still ill, he could see it in the man’s eyes. His body language might not show any signs of illness, he could maybe perfectly lie, but his eyes showed it all; he really was on the brink of death.

Ruki looked at the food, but he had lost his appetite.

“Last hope, my arse,” he groaned, glaring at the door.

He couldn’t believe he had actually come to trusting the prince. He knew he couldn’t have faith in humans, yet he seemingly had let his guard down, slowly letting the bleached-blond prince in.

He stared down at his tail, sighing. The honey blond was right, as long as he stayed in this room he wouldn’t know what was truly going on. He didn’t want to have legs, in his eyes it meant leaving a part of him behind, but if he didn’t do this, he would never know what his real purpose in the palace was.

He glanced at the device Reita had given him in case he needed to call a servant. There only was one button on it, but the prince had explained that it was enough to send a message to the servants. Once they’d received it, one would come to see what the hybrid wanted. He grabbed it and pressed on the button, wondering if it really worked. He wasn’t even sure a servant would come, they all seemed to try to avoid this room as much as possible.

To his surprise, one of the servants quickly came in, bowing in front of him. As always she looked everywhere but at him.

“Is there something I can do?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Ruki rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on how she behaved.

“I need a robe,” he answered.

“A robe?” she frowned, looking up at him in confusion.

“Don’t question it, just bring me one.”

She startled at the tone he used, looking away the moment she noticed she had actually been looking at him in the eyes, and nodded before rushing out of the room.

“I thought servants didn’t question orders,” he groaned diving underwater.

He leant against a side of the pool in the left corner, near the window, and closed his eyes.

The hybrid woke up, slightly disorientated. He didn’t think he would actually really fall asleep. He didn’t let his guard down, as he had no idea what could happen to him here, sleeping with one eye open all the time. Maybe his lack of sleep had finally caught up to him, making him sleep so soundly.

He swam up to the surface and ran his fingers through his hair. He noticed that the tray of food was gone and had been replaced by another tray with a nicely folded, black robe on top of it. He hauled himself out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool. He looked towards the window and noticed that the clouds were gone and had let place to the sunset, the room being filled with sunlight.

He crawled back a bit, taking his tail out of the water, and sighed. He really hoped it would work.

He dragged his nails over his scales, drawing some blood, and started to murmur a spell in his own language. He wasn’t even sure he knew it completely, he had never really paid attention to that kind of spells when his mother taught him those. He knew that merpeople didn’t even need a spell to have legs, but he had no idea how it worked, and from what he remembered, his mother had told him that it didn’t apply to him as he was a hybrid.

Excruciating pain shot through his whole body as he finished chanting. It felt like he was being cut in half. If that’s what it meant to become human, he preferred not to. There was no way someone could go through that. He bit his bottom lip, hissing through gritted teeth, and rolled on the ground. He looked up at the ceiling, his world spinning around him, before everything turned black.

Ruki came round when the moon shone in the sky, the sun having completely disappeared over the horizon. Sitting up, he frowned as he felt his body being way lighter than usual. He looked down and gaped at his body; his tail was gone and had been replaced by legs.

He crawled to the edge of the pool, or more like dragged himself there with his arms, to grab the robe. He slowly sat back on his heels, struggling a bit to keep his balance, and put on the robe. He had no idea how he would stand up, he didn’t even know how it was possible, his legs looked too thin to be able to support his weight, there was no way it would work.

He tied his belt and crouched, or at least tried to. How was he supposed to keep his balance without having water surrounding him? He could stay in this position only because he used his hands to support himself on the ground, without that support he knew he would fall.

He looked around, wondering what could help him to stand. There was no furniture around, not even a chair. Reita always sat on the ground to be at Ruki’s level, or at least not to tower over him. The hybrid sighed and decided to crawl to one of the walls.

After many failed attempts to stand up and take a few steps, which ended up in him falling each time he even slightly tried to lift a foot, he finally managed, this time his legs not wobbling. As he looked up, grinning to himself, feeling sort of proud of himself, he locked eyes with surprised, amber orbs. He froze, not quite sure how the other would react.

“You really can become human?”

Ruki glanced away from the prince’s piercing stare. He had no idea whether the other was happy or mad.

“ ** _Ruki_**.”

The hybrid flinched as he heard his name. He tried to take a few steps back as he noticed the masked blond walking to him, but he lost his footing and fell on the ground. He groaned in pain as he rubbed his lower back.

“How did this happen? You didn’t tell me you could turn into a human,” continued Reita.

The small blond gaped at the other, not believing his ears. Did the prince really think that the hybrid owed him an explanation?

“So what? It’s not like you’ve been telling me everything either, _**your highness**_ ,” spat Ruki, glaring at the prince.

That’s what he hated about royalty; they always thought everything was due to them. Sure, he could have told Reita that he actually could have legs, but he hadn’t planned on ever using that spell until that man earlier. Reita, however, had hid something that was more important in the hybrid’s eyes. He had actually lied to him.

“What do you mean?” frowned the bleached-blond man.

“You know, the honey-blond beauty that goes around in a robe.”

Reita gaped at the small man as he heard his reply.

“He came and kept on talking about how important he is to you, and how he actually is healing you,” continued the hybrid, standing back up.

The sea creature couldn’t hide the smirk that stretched his lips as he noticed how all colour seemed to have drained from the prince’s face. He felt smug, finally having some sort of upper hand in this situation. However there was still something that stung at his heart, and he couldn’t fathom what it was, but it didn’t matter, did it? He dismissed that feeling, all that mattered was that he had caught Reita in his lie and that the prince had no way to deny it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I finally managed to update this fanfic! It took me some time and I'm sorry for that, I hope you at least liked this new chapter. I finally introduced a new character, hehe. What do you think is really going on though? Do you think Reita would actually lie, or is there something else going on?
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“Uruha came here?”

The hybrid rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. The prince seemed to have a hard time understanding that the honey blond had actually paid Ruki a visit. Did Reita really try to hide the merman as much as possible from people at court? The hybrid understood that something could happen to him if other powerful people found out about him, but the bleached-blond human didn’t actually really need Ruki, not according to Uruha at least, so what was the point of keeping him here? Why couldn’t he just set him free?

“Why did he come?” asked the prince, taking a few steps in Ruki’s direction.

“I guess he wanted to see what you’re hiding, he doesn’t seem to appreciate not being your centre of attention anymore,” replied the blond sea creature, glaring at the prince. “He then proceeded to explain how important he was to you, how he was the one keeping you alive and how you were manipulating me, keeping me prisoner in this room.”

The masked blond seemed to be at a loss for words.

“I’ve no idea what you're expecting from me, Reita, but if you thought you’d be saved by me, you can forget it. Apparently that man is enough to keep you alive.”

“Ruki…”

“I knew I couldn’t trust humans, and you proved me that just now,” sighed the hybrid, turning his back to the prince.

It hurt to say it out loud. It hurt to acknowledge that Reita had broken Ruki’s trust. But above all, it hurt even more to realise that he really had come to trust the prince, even though he had sworn to never believe a human being.

“Just let me explain,” sighed the prince, walking over to face the hybrid.

“Why should I? To let you lie to me even more?” retorted Ruki, glaring at the bleached-blond man.

“I wasn’t lying!”

The merman took a step back at the other’s outburst, his eyes widening. He had never seen Reita lose his temper, never had the prince ever raised his voice at him. Was the man he had gotten to know over the past few weeks even real?

He warily looked at the bleached blond when he heard him grunt.

“It’s true that I didn’t tell you everything,” began the prince, running his left hand through his hair. “But I didn’t lie about my state, I’m really dying.”

Ruki looked away, hiding his face behind his still slightly damp hair.

“Uruha does help me, that’s true, but all he does is buy me some time. He can’t actually heal me, no matter which spell he uses. He would have to compromise his integrity as a witch to really cure me, and I can’t ask him to do such a thing,” continued the masked blond.

“I’m pretty sure there are enough witches out there who would be willing to use those infamous spells to save you, you're the prince after all,” retorted the blond sea creature, still not looking at the other. “Who wouldn’t want to win your favour?”

“But there’s always a price. I’m sure you know witches don’t do anything for free, unless it’s for someone they love,” replied the other, taking another step towards Ruki.

“Then I guess Uruha doesn’t care about you enough to actually save you, and there’s no way I like you enough to save you,” snorted the hybrid.

The prince gaped at the other, not quite sure he had heard well. Had Ruki really said he didn’t like him enough to save him? Did the merman realise that this implied he actually had started liking the bleached-blond man? Probably not because he didn’t seem to take his words back, and Reita had clearly noticed how a look of panic would cross Ruki’s face when it dawned upon him that he had uttered a positive comment about the human world. Moreover there was one thing Ruki was adamant about: his hatred for the human kind. The hybrid despised humans more than anything, the prince had witnessed it a few times when a servant would come in. He had also seen this hatred directed to him, but over the past few weeks it had seemed to diminish, in such a way that the prince had come to hear Ruki laugh a few times, the hybrid clearly loosening up around the bleached-blond man.

In the beginning he had thought that the sea creature was only capable of sulking, granted he was a prisoner in the palace, away from his home, so it shouldn’t have surprised the prince. However, as time went by, Reita had noticed the other smiling here and there, and then, one day, Ruki had burst into laughter. The sound had surprised the prince, never had he ever thought he would hear it. After all, each time Ruki smiled, Reita was pretty sure the hybrid thought he wasn’t looking at him. But that laugh… There was no way Reita would have missed it, nor would he ever forget it.

He glanced at the blond merman, noticing how the other was on the defensive, and how hurt he actually seemed, his arms crossed over his chest, fingers clutching the fabric of his black robe. However, no matter how fragile the other looked, it was obvious he was ready to run away if he felt threatened.

Reita looked down at his feet, remembering the day he had first heard Ruki laugh. As usual, he was visiting the hybrid in the afternoon. That day he actually was in a better mood than usual because Uruha had cast a spell on him, making Reita feel refreshed, healthy, even though he knew it was only for a few hours. He had barely opened the door to Ruki’s room that his whole outfit was covered in food, mostly soup, as Ruki had refused to eat it that day. He remembered how embarrassed the servant had been, how red her face was and how she kept on apologising, trying to find a way to clean Reita’s clothes, rubbing a cloth over the prince’s trousers, although she knew it was useless. That was when a warm laugh had echoed in the room. Reita had pushed the servant away, his head jerking up to look at the merman that was laughing uncontrollably in the middle of the pool. The reason why Ruki was laughing might have been childish, but the moment the prince had heard that laugh, he knew he’d never get enough of it. That also was the day he had realised his plans weren’t going the way he wanted, but he had decided to push that thought away.

“I know you have no reason to trust me, no reason to trust a human being, but you really are the only person who can save me,” sighed the prince, defeated.

He knew he couldn’t push the other. He had made a lot of research on merfolk and their powers since Ruki had been captured, and he now knew the blond sea creature wasn’t lying when he said he had to fall in love with the prince. Merpeople’s magic worked with pure, raw emotions, if a mermaid faked her feelings, it would only worsen the situation. Saving someone on the brink of death apparently could end up with both parties dead if the feelings of the mermaid weren’t real.

“You don’t even know what falling in love truly means to a mermaid, Reita.”

The prince frowned, not quite sure what the other meant. Wasn’t it like for human beings?

“When we fall in love, it’s for life,” continued Ruki, his blue eyes meeting Reita’s. “Humans can apparently fall in love several times in their life, but for a mermaid, it’s usually only once, maybe twice at most if she lives long. I know some who never found their mate, and they’ve been around for over half a millennium, while there are others who found their mates in less than a century.”

The merman raised his hand when he noticed the prince was about to talk, gesturing him to not interrupt him.

“Of course we have lovers, but we don’t love them the way we love our mate. In order to save you, I would have to fall for you, hard,” sighed the hybrid. “I don’t control those feelings, so I can’t decide to love you, save you and then go back home, that’s not how it works. You might never even find a mermaid that will love you enough for this magic to have an effect.”

There was so much to this, even merpeople didn’t exactly know how it all worked. They knew what they witnessed only, but there were always some sides to magic that were hidden from most people. Ruki perfectly knew it, his mother had made it clear when she taught him sea witches’ magic. One spell could work differently depending on who was casting it as well as on who the recipient was.

“Do you have a mate?” asked the masked blond, wondering how the other knew so much about this, he didn’t seem old after all.

Ruki slightly smiled, although the prince could clearly see that it wasn’t out of happiness. The blond merman seemed crushed.

“Somewhere, I guess I do,” replied the sea creature.

“Is it possible for your people to fall in love with humans?”

The hybrid turned his back to the prince and took a few steps towards the pool, looking out the window.

“There are stories,” he answered, rubbing his arms, he felt cold. “But they’re old, we’ve done everything we could to stay away from human beings for so long… Those stories belong to a bygone era, when humans and merfolk lived in peace. For all we know they might not even be true.”

“But it is possible,” insisted Reita.

Ruki glanced over his shoulder at the prince for a second, then looked back at the city.

“You don’t choose who you fall in love with.”

The bleached-blond man cocked an eyebrow, having the feeling that Ruki wasn’t telling him something.

“What happens if you outlive your mate?” he dared to ask.

“A part of you dies,” shortly replied the merman.

Ruki brought a hand to his mouth, muffling a sob that was threatening to cross his lips. He didn’t want to let Reita know about this side of him, about the pain he tried to bury in the back of his mind and heart. Humans didn’t know what it was like to feel like you were complete only with your mate, and what it was like to lose that person, to lose a part of yourself. They probably went through heartache, but the pain a mermaid went through when she lost her beloved… It was something a human being would never fathom, not by being in love with another human at least. Bonds between humans were nothing like bonds between mermaids.

“Humans have soulmates too, you know,” uttered Reita, staring at Ruki’s shivering figure. “Maybe it doesn’t affect us the same way it affects your people, but some of us fall in love only once.”

“There are rumours,” whispered the sea creature, not paying attention to what Reita had just said. “Some of us have been missing for a long time, but considering no ships were around when they disappeared… Some say they might have left the ocean for the dry land willingly, or more specifically for **_someone_** on the dry land.”

The prince wasn’t quite sure what to think about this new information. How was it possible if merpeople tried as much as possible to stay away from humans? Ruki was here only because he had come too close to the coast, otherwise Reita was pretty sure it would have been way harder to catch a mermaid, if not impossible.

“The problem with having a human mate would be the lifespan,” continued the hybrid, walking along the border of the pool, still not looking at the other. “We live way longer than you, human beings, do. A human mate would mean guaranteed heartbreak, and none of us want that, it would feel like our mate died just when we met him. Merfolk have a different perception of time, years for you feel like seconds to us,” he explained, spinning on his heels to finally gaze at Reita.

The bleached-blond man gulped at the intensity of the other’s stare, his blue eyes were gleaming, the sort of sparks he had noticed on the very first day blazing. Something was going on, the prince just couldn’t figure out what.

“Anyway, this doesn’t change the way I feel about you,” said Ruki, his eyes going back to normal.

“I understand,” managed to reply Reita, still slightly unsettled by everything the other had said.

The prince eyed the sea creature up, now only realizing how small the other seemed. It actually looked like he could barely stand, and just as that thought crossed the prince’s mind, the hybrid’s legs were giving out. Reita barely had the time to run to catch the other before he hit the floor, himself almost slipping into the pool as he did so.

“You could just have let me fall,” groaned Ruki, trying to push the other away, his legs weakly kicking in the air.

“I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t be your first fall of the day, but I’d rather spare your body more injuries,” retorted the masked blond, standing up as he carried the hybrid in his arms. “I’ll take you to a more appropriate room now that you look human. Once you learn how to walk properly, you’ll be able to go around the palace.”

“Having legs is such a pain in the arse,” grumbled the blond sea creature, crossing his arms over his chest.

The blond human chuckled at the face the other was making, almost pouting like a child.

“I think you might actually enjoy it,” said Reita, pushing the door open with his back. “I’ll show you. Once you know everything you can do here, you might not even want to go back to the ocean.”

Ruki only humphed in response. The conversation had quickly switched to another subject, almost trivial, but the merman still stood his ground; he would never let himself trust the prince again, which meant he would never fall in love with him and therefore would never go back home; he would be trapped in this palace until his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this took me forever to update, and I'm so sorry for that. I know I don't update that often, but trust me, I still write for all my fanfics, so none of them are abandoned (as this is a recurrent question). You just have to be patient because a lot is going on in my life, there are a lot of changes, so I just can't write as much as I did in 2016.  
> Anyway, besides that, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! You get to know a bit more about Ruki, I think, haha. Plus, there are a few hints here and there about Reita.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“What the hell were you thinking, going to see Ruki?” yelled the prince, slamming the door behind him.

The honey-blond witch, who had been lying on his bed, reading a book about sea creatures, flinched when Reita stormed into his bedroom. He knew the prince would hear about his visit to the hybrid at some point, but he didn’t expect it to be so soon. He slowly stood up, doing his best not to cower when the prince stopped in front of him, his eyes filled with rage.

“I told you before not to stick your nose into this!” growled Reita, grabbing the witch by the arms.

Uruha winced in pain, now regretting the side effects of his spells on Reita. The prince was inhumanly strong, and his strength kept on increasing each time the witch cast a spell on him to keep him alive. Moreover, Reita’s current mood was also due to the spells. Strong emotions such as anger and love now tended to get out of the prince’s control.

“I had to see why you were so secretive,” mumbled the honey blond, trying to push the bleached blond away.

“There are reasons to this, and you perfectly know them, Uruha,” retorted the prince, his right hand grabbing the witch by the throat. “What if my uncle had seen you go in there? What if **_he_** had decided to pay Ruki a visit? Can you imagine?”

The witch clawed at the hand that was slowly squeezing his throat, but to no avail. When Reita was in such a fit of rage, there was nothing to do, he could only hope the other would calm down on his own, and fast.

“I swear, if he had seen Ruki before he turned human, you’d already be on the scaffold,” snarled the masked man, pushing the honey blond away.

Uruha stumbled backwards, falling on his bed, and gaped in a mix of shock and horror at the blond. He knew the sea creature was important in Reita’s eyes for him to hide him from all the powerful people at court, but he didn’t except Reita to threaten his life, not for this. Ruki wasn’t the only merman in the world, there had to be tons of others, probably not that far away, merpeople tended to live in shoal after all.

“Don’t look at me that way, I expressly forbade you to meddle in this, and you still went behind my back,” said Reita, crossing his arms.

“I don’t understand why you need him! Am I not enough for you? I’m healing you!” exclaimed the honey blond. “I know all the stories about mermaids saving people from death, but you can’t possibly believe in such a fairytale!”

The prince’s amber eyes darkened.

“What if I do? What if I believe that he could save me in a way you can’t?” asked the bleached-blond man. “You know just like me that you will never compromise your integrity as a witch, no witch would. I have to find a solution elsewhere.”

“Aren’t my spells enough though? They’ve been keeping you alive for years, they’re healing you.”

Reita shook his head, sighing heavily. He could feel himself calming down, but he still had that tingling sensation in his hands he’d had even before leaving Ruki in his new room. The prince knew that if Uruha angered him again, he might not be able to control himself.

“You know just like me that they’re not healing me, they’re only giving me time. And the side effects are horrible, too,” he sighed taking a few steps back. “Sometimes my body hurts so much it feels like it’s going to split in half.”

“But you're still alive,” softly said Uruha, sitting up.

“For how long? Uruha, those spells are tiring you out, and I’m not sure my body can take so much strength, it might be too much at some point,” replied the prince.

The honey blond heaved a sigh, knowing the masked blond was right. He wasn’t sure himself how long the other’s body and mind could take on the side effects of the spell, and he could feel the spell was taking a toll on him too, especially the few days after casting it.

“Anyway,” continued Reita. “Don’t go anywhere near Ruki in the future. He might look human now, but I’m still against you getting involved in this. You already made things hard enough by visiting him.”

The witch frowned, glancing at the other.

“He doesn’t trust me anymore because of you, and I **_need_** him to trust me if I want to be fully healed,” groaned Reita, running a hand over his face. “If you know everything about those so-called fairytales, you should know that he’s supposed to fall in love with him.”

“Please, Reita, you know just like me that he won’t fall in love with you. Mermaids don’t trust humans, how could he fall in love with you when you basically imprisoned him?” retorted Uruha, noticing too late what he had just said.

Reita glowered at him. If looks could kill, the witch knew he would have already dropped dead.

“Indeed, you made sure of that when you told him I was manipulating him,” growled the prince, walking up to Uruha once again, towering above the honey blond.

“It’s true! You _**are**_ manipulating him!” retorted the witch, staring defiantly at the bleached-blond man. “I hate the way I feel, knowing there’s a risk you actually fall in love with him, but you know what I hate even more? Knowing that he’s going to end up heartbroken the moment you get what you want!”

“Watch your words,” warned the prince.

“Mermaids are fragile creatures, Reita,” continued Uruha, ignoring the other’s warning. “He might act all tough around you, but they’re actually more fragile than us. I might not be an expert in sea creatures, I didn’t even know sea witches and merpeople could have children together, but I at least know this. If he falls in love with you, if he saves you and then ends up being thrown away, you might **_kill_** him.”

The prince rolled his eyes, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

“Don’t act like you care about him, Uruha, it’s not like you to care about others like that,” he said.

“I won’t deny it, I wanted to check the competition when I visited him,” started the witch, raising his hands in the air. “I wanted to know why you didn’t let me see him, why you were so secretive about him. But that man has literally no idea what he got himself into!” he exclaimed, standing up. “You say you’ll have me executed if your uncle finds out about him? No matter what, that merman **_will_** be executed!” he continued, hitting the prince on the chest. “You’re already betrothed, there’s no way your parents will let him live after he’s served his purpose.”

“Don’t act so dramatic.”

“Gods, Reita, stop being such a heartless dick! You know I’m right. Your parents already have a hard time with me, they won’t accept yet another man in your life.”

“I’m the crown prince, I can do what I want,” retorted the masked blond with a snort.

The witch grunted in response, walking to the window.

“I can’t tell if it’s you or the side effects of the spell talking anymore,” whispered the honey blond, letting himself fall on the cushions that covered the big windowsill.

“And it’s not like you to worry so much about a stranger, Uruha,” said the prince. “You say I’m not myself, but what about you? You’ve always cared about yourself, about what would be to your advantage, about what would pleasure you. Why would you care about a sea creature all of a sudden?”

Uruha glared at the prince, his deep brown eyes turning gold.

“He’s a fucking witch, that’s why!” he yelled, throwing a pillow at Reita. “I can’t just let one of my sisters be destroyed by you. He has no idea who you are! He thinks you’re a sweet man who cares about his well-being, but that’s not who you are! You used to be that way, yes, but you’re not anymore.”

The prince caught the pillow, ready to retort with a scathing remark, but as Uruha’s words echoed in the room, it felt like something snapped inside of him. He dropped the pillow to the ground, inhaling sharply.

“You need to find a remedy to my mood swings, I’m not sure who I am anymore either. Your last spell completely fucked me up,” he uttered, quickly walking out of the room, not waiting for Uruha’s answer.

The witch was right, Ruki had no idea who he was dealing with. Reita wished Uruha was wrong, but everything the honey blond had said was true. What Uruha didn’t know was that Reita’s plan wasn’t going the way he wanted. Ruki was supposed to fall in love with him, but the prince had slowly started growing fond of the hybrid, even if he knew the sea creature would probably never make it out of the castle alive. He was the crown prince, he had a lot of freedom, but if there was one thing his parents weren’t so keen on, it was him having lovers. He had the right to have some, he was a man in the royal family after all, he knew some girls even fought to get the status of mistress. However, he knew the king and queen wanted him to be faithful to his betrothed, something he hadn’t been able to stay to their dismay. They had agreed to let Uruha live at court, they had agreed to let them have a somewhat secret relationship, but they wouldn’t agree to someone else. And once he was officially married, the prince doubted he would even have time for the honey-blond witch. He knew there even was a possibility that his childhood friend ended up dead. It would be masked as a murder, one that would conveniently stay unresolved.

Ruki had no idea who Reita was, and Reita wasn’t even sure who he was anymore either. The sea creature had gotten to know his good side, but there was a lot that he didn’t know about him as well as about the whole situation. If the hybrid knew what was going to happen to him after he saved the prince, if that even happened, he probably would have done everything to escape already, something the masked blond couldn’t risk. For now the king and queen hadn’t heard about Ruki, but Reita knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the merman a secret forever.

“You look like you need to relax a bit.”

The prince startled, looking up to lock eyes with none other than the hybrid himself.

“Ruki, what are you doing here?” he asked, looking around him.

He hadn’t even noticed that he had wandered to the smaller man’s quarters area.

“I’m just taking a walk, getting used to my legs,” replied the hybrid, a hint of a smile on his plump lips. “Don’t worry, the servant you assigned to watch me is following me like my shadow,” he said, pointing behind his back, said servant indeed standing a few steps behind the small blond. “What I’m wondering is what you’re doing here. You said you wouldn’t be coming back today.”

Reita couldn’t help but smile sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

“I didn’t pay attention to where I was going,” he replied.

The hybrid hummed in response, his face unreadable.

“I was going to check out the bathhouse, maybe you should come along and take some time to relax there,” ended up saying Ruki. “Your servant told me it was a good place to unwind.”

“Do you even know what a bathhouse is?” asked the prince, smiling.

“No, that’s pretty much why I want to go,” huffed the hybrid, looking away as he walked past the masked blond.

Reita shook his head, still smiling. Somehow his mood tended to get better the moment he was around the sea creature, which was why he was pretty sure he had to forget what he had originally planned to do with the hybrid.

He turned around, quickly catching up with Ruki.

“Considering you’re a sea creature, you should love the bathhouse,” he said, taking the lead. “We don’t use sea water, but you should still enjoy it.”

“Water?” asked the hybrid, cocking his head to the side.

“The bathhouse is used to clean ourselves, as well as relax,” explained the prince. “There are several ones, servants obviously don’t have a bath in the same place as nobles and the royal family.”

“Which one can I use then?” asked the hybrid. “I’m no royalty. My father may be a royal advisor, but I never was treated like a noble either.”

“Don’t worry about that,” replied Reita, entering the royal bathhouse, the servant who had been following Ruki staying outside. “You can use this one. It’s a bit like Roman baths, for us it’s honestly more for relaxation than anything else.”

He glanced at Ruki, noticing how quiet the sea creature was all of a sudden. He softly smiled when he saw how the small man was watching the room in awe, slowly walking around, touching the empress green marble walls. The room had subdued lighting, which gave a soft, almost romantic, vibe.

“This almost feels like my mum’s cave back home,” whispered the hybrid, squatting down to dip his fingers in the water.

The prince raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear the blue-eyed man talk about his mother. If there was one thing the hybrid barely talked about, it was his mother. He had mentioned growing up at court, with his father, but he never really talked about his mother. Reita only knew she was a sea witch, he didn’t even know how a sea witch could get involved with a merman, moreover one of Ruki’s father’s species.

“What’s this smell?” asked Ruki, now only noticing the scent in the air. “And why isn’t the water clear?”

“We usually pour essential oils in the water,” replied the prince, getting undressed. “The servants saw me arrive, so they already poured some.”

“Why are you undressing yourself?” frowned the hybrid.

“You really don’t know anything about humans, do you?” snorted the masked blond.

Ruki looked away, pouting. What did the prince expect? Of course he didn’t know anything. He had been learning things over the past few weeks, but not much, after all he had been stuck in a swimming pool until now.

“I know that people don’t usually get naked in front of strangers,” retorted the hybrid, crossing his arms.

Reita softly laughed, stepping inside the bath.

“We don’t mind it all that much, not in this kind of situations at least,” replied the prince, sighing in pure bliss as he basked into the heat. “And you’re not exactly a stranger,” he added, smirking.

“But what if I turn back in my original form? I honestly don’t want to go through the pain of turning human again,” frowned Ruki, staring at the water warily.

“You already dipped your hand, right? I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine, you’re not a normal merman anyway,” said Reita, closing his eyes.

For a few seconds the only sound in the room was the water fountain continuously filling the baths. Then, there was the soft rustle of clothes falling on the ground and soon after he could hear the hybrid getting in the bath too.

“This feels weird, being in water but not having a tail… And it’s so warm.”

The prince opened his eyes to look at the other, unable to stop himself from staring when his eyes landed on him. Ruki already had his robe on when Reita had seen him in his human form, so the bleached-blond man hadn’t been able to see the other’s complete appearance. But now he could see it, and he hadn’t expected something like this. The hybrid’s pale skin seemed to almost shine in the dark lit room, but what had caught the prince’s eye was the tattoos that covered the smaller man’s body. Ruki obviously didn’t have gills anymore as he didn’t need them, but where they should have been were now tattoos, similar to the tribal one he had in his back. They spread to his arms and some dark lines outlined his ribs. Reita couldn’t see the rest of the hybrid’s body as it was immersed in the milky water, but he was willing to bet that those tattoos spread further.

“You humans really need to learn good manners.”

The prince snapped out of his daze when Ruki uttered those words.

“Sorry,” he quickly said, looking away.

The hybrid shook his head, looking at his hands under the water.

“Just relax. I feel stressed just by how tense you are,” he softly said, leaning against the opposite side of the bath.

“I’m relaxed,” frowned the prince.

“No, you’re not. Maybe you think you are, but I can still sense anger coming from you. I’m not sure what put you into that state, but it won’t do you any good. You’re supposed to be careful because of your state, strong emotions like that will only worsen the way you feel.”

Reita sighed, not quite sure how Ruki could feel all that. He didn’t feel angry anymore, not after Uruha’s last words. He might have been enraged at first, but now he could only accept the way the honey blond felt. It still didn’t quite seem like the witch to worry so much about someone else’s well-being, but his explanations made sense, he even had admitted that at first he had only wanted to see if Ruki was a threat to him, to his status.

The prince startled when he felt hands on his shoulders, forcing him to move.

“Just relax,” said Ruki, starting to massage the bleached blond’s shoulders.

“Why are you doing this?” asked Reita, trying to turn around to look at the hybrid, but he only received a hard slap on his left shoulder that made him stay in place.

“I need to relax too, and you’re definitely not helping with how stressed and angry you are,” replied the other.

“But I’m no–”

“Yeah and I’m friggin Poseidon,” cut him off the hybrid. “Just shut up and enjoy the fact that I’m actually giving you a massage.”

The prince softly laughed, closing his eyes and letting the other do what he wanted.

Ruki pushed the masked blond down so he immersed himself in the water some more, feeling how tense the other’s muscles were. He pressed his thumbs in-between the other’s shoulder blades, earning himself a moan. He stared down at the prince, wide-eyed. He hadn’t expected to get such a reaction from Reita, not from a simple massage at least. He shook his head and went back to massaging the other.

As he looked down at the other’s face, at how close it was to being underwater, he thought for a moment about pushing the prince further down. It would be so easy to drown him, to get rid of the man that kept him here, but something made him decide otherwise. He couldn’t tell what it was, but as much as killing the other might offer him freedom and a possibility to escape, he also felt like the other’s death would hurt him more than anything, although he wasn’t quite sure how that was possible.

The hybrid looked away, sighing heavily. He was so screwed. 

 

* * *

 

The honey blond stood in front of the royal bathhouse’s doors, shaking his head, dejected, as he heard the prince moan.

“You’re an idiot, Reita,” he muttered, turning on his heels to walk away.

They were all doomed. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that none of them would get out of this unscathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This actually turned out to be a lot longer than I thought, haha.  
> Anyway, hello Uruha! I think I revealed a lot in this chapter, and somehow I'm glad I finally got to this point! Some people already had guessed who Uruha was to Reita, but now you got the confirmation ~ I know you didn't get much of Ruki's POV though, but I thought it would be a nice change.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“I’m telling you, something happened to him,” repeated the brunet, quickly swimming in front of the shark merman so he would face him again.

“Kai, I know you care about my son a lot, but this is ridiculous. It’s not the first time he disappears,” sighed the older sea creature in exasperation, running a hand over his face.

“For a month? I know how he is, but he would never go away for so long, not without letting us know,” retorted the brunet named Kai. “I’ve a bad feeling and so does Aoi.”

The blond shark merman stared at the golden and red scaled merman, crossing his arms over his broad chest and shaking his head. Why did his son have to cause so much trouble? He had more important matters to care about.

“If you want to look for him, you have the permission to do so, but don’t come to me again. Ruki’s old enough to take care of himself, it’s not like he’s just any merman after all,” ended up saying the royal advisor.

Kai stared at the other in disbelief as his shoulders slumped slightly. He knew it would be hard to convince Ruki’s father that something had happened to his son, but he didn’t think that he would be that reluctant to talk about it, to even hear about it.

“He’s always been quite curious and reckless, I’m sure he’ll come back to us safe and sound, like always,” uttered the older merman, patting the other on the shoulder before swimming away.

The brunet shook his head, leaving the royal palace’s grounds as fast as possible. Ruki’s father didn’t want to hear about it, and his mother had been traveling for the past two months. How could he possibly find Ruki all by himself?

“I’m guessing it didn’t go so well.”

Kai looked up to see Aoi dressed in a white with soft green hues chiton, sitting on a closed clam and leaning back on his hands.

“He just doesn’t care,” muttered the brunet, sitting next to the light blue-skinned creature. “I get that he’s busy with everything going on right now, but it’s his son who disappeared.”

“Nothing new,” the raven replied, looking up at the royal palace, playing with one of the white pearls that hung from his right ear. “Ruki’s an abnormality, and I know you hate it when I say this, but it’s a fact. I’m pretty sure his father actually would be relieved to hear that his son is gone forever.”

“I know,” groaned Kai, burying his face in his hands.

The light blue-skinned sea witch softly smiled at the other, ruffling his shoulder-length brown hair, the blond ends almost sparkling in the raven’s fingers as they were in touch with magic.

“Did you try throwing another locator spell?” asked the brunet, rubbing his eyes, ignoring how the other was playing with his hair. “I can’t believe that your connection with Ruki’s gone, you two always had this weird thing going on, understanding each other’s feelings without even voicing them out.”

Aoi scratched the back of his neck, looking away from the merman.

“I did, but it’s still the same. I can feel him, he’s alive, but it’s just…” trailed off the raven, taking out a necklace that belonged to the hybrid from the small purse that hung on the side of his waist. “It doesn’t make any sense…”

“What do you mean?” frowned Kai, now staring at his friend. “You told me before that you barely could sense him, you couldn’t even tell if he was alive or not.”

Aoi shifted uncomfortably in his spot, knowing very well that he shouldn’t have kept this from the brunet. He just wasn’t sure that what he felt was right, that what he had seen was actually possible. However, after asking several older and more experienced witches, he had come to the conclusion that what he felt and saw was the truth, as unbelievable as it was.

“He’s on dry land,” explained the raven. “And before you say anything,” he started, seeing how the brunet merman was about to yell at him. “I kept this a secret because I thought I was misunderstanding what I felt and saw,” he continued, standing up.

“I don’t care, you should have told me the moment you felt that! It changes everything,” retorted Kai, pushing himself off the clam with his tail. “We can’t do anything if he’s on dry land.”

“Of course we can, or at least I can,” replied Aoi, putting the necklace back in his purse. “We haven’t seen mermaids turn into their human forms in ages, but I’d just have to change my skin colour and then I’d blend in pretty easily.”

“And what about your gills and hands? And your face tattoos? I don’t think humans are used to seeing people with white tattoos on their face.”

The raven looked down at his webbed fingers, shrugging.

“Nothing a spell can’t solve.”

“Aoi,” sighed Kai. “You have no idea what human customs are like, you’d stick out like a sore thumb.”

“It can’t be that hard,” said the other, rolling his two-coloured eyes.

“Your coven wouldn't let you do that anyway,” retorted the brunet, shaking his head. “You’re too precious to them, they won’t risk losing you to humans.”

“I don’t care what my coven wants, Kai. We can’t just leave Ruki in the hands of humans.”

“You said he was alive, that’s something good. We shouldn’t rush it, we need to think this through because if we mess up…”

“I know,” sighed the raven, looking away.

He said that their blond friend was fine because he could feel that he wasn’t physically harmed, but the raven could feel something else, something he wasn’t sure he should tell Kai. Ruki despised humans with all his heart, while other merpeople had slowly moved on as it seemed humans had forgotten about them, the past two centuries of peace being enough proof to that matter. Kai was one of those who didn’t really care much about humans anymore. However, if Aoi told him what Ruki was feeling, the raven wasn’t sure it would stay that way. The brunet was very protective of his friends, and as kindhearted as he was, he could be ruthless, too.

The sea witch honestly had no idea how Ruki’s heart had ended up in such a state. He could feel the blond was tormented by his feelings, feelings for a **_human_** apparently, and that left Aoi sceptical. How could the hybrid possibly have fallen for a human being, out of all creatures in the world? He knew for a fact that the blond would push those feelings away as much as possible, but at some point he wouldn’t be able to anymore and it would all come down crushing on him all of a sudden. Aoi couldn’t help but worry about his friend’s state, knowing better than anyone how Ruki dealt with love. It wasn’t a feeling the hybrid liked, not after what had happened decades ago, he actually dreaded it. To think that he had fallen for a human, the creature he hated the most who also turned out to have the shortest lifespan… This would only break Ruki’s heart all over again.

“Aoi, what’s going on?”

The raven sea witch blinked a few times, only noticing now that he had spaced out for a moment.

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” he replied, smiling sheepishly.

“Maybe you should go back home? It’s getting late and the curfew’s still on after the storm we had a few days ago,” uttered the brunet, their surroundings getting darker as the sun set in the sky, small orbs of lights appearing everywhere to light the underwater realm.

“I guess I should,” replied Aoi, poking a blue sphere that appeared near his face, observing it vibrate as it was touched.

“Do you want me to go with you? I still need to look for the missing eggs,” offered the merman, smiling softly at the other.

“You haven’t recovered all of them yet?” asked the raven, the blue orb now forgotten as he looked back at his friend.

The brunet shook his head in defeat.

“It wouldn’t be so urgent if there wasn't a royal egg among the still missing ones,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Aoi gaped at the other, he wasn’t aware that a royal egg was missing. No wonder Ruki’s father had other things to worry about than his son, a future royal was missing.

“Fuck,” groaned the brunet, noticing the other’s expression. “Forget I told you that, you weren’t supposed to know!”

“Whose egg is it?” still asked the raven, not giving a damn about what Kai was allowed to do or say to him.

“Prince Hizaki’s,” whispered the merman with a scowl.

“Well, I can tell some heads are gonna roll if his egg isn’t found,” snorted Aoi. “Especially that it’s his first child.”

“You don’t need to remind me that,” groaned the brunet, starting to swim in the direction of the other’s place.

“Have you asked for sea witches’ help?” asked the raven, following after the other.

“We did, but they aren’t very fond of Prince Hizaki so it took some bargaining to have them finally accept to help,” sighed the merman.

He knew the witches’ antipathy for the prince was well-founded, the royal merman had a tendency to disrespect other sea creatures very publicly, but witches were smart and they had to know that if they refused to lend a hand, it would be to their disadvantage in the end. Thankfully, Ruki’s father was a good negotiator, and as much the older merman abhor his son’s nature for some obscure reasons, he still held sea witches in high regard.

“And they still haven't located it? That doesn’t make any sense,” pointed out Aoi, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Aoi, please, don’t push it, a commoner shouldn’t know about this.”

The sea witch scoffed, staring at his friend in disbelief.

“Please, don’t start treating me like a stranger all of a sudden, and I’m not a commoner,” said the raven, rolling his eyes.

The brunet only threw a pleading look at his friend, obviously begging him to let go of this matter. If anyone learnt that Kai was telling Aoi about such important **_royal_** matters, the merman could very well lose his head.

“All right, sorry,” sighed the sea witch, smiling apologetically at his friend.

Aoi tended to forget how Kai actually wasn’t supposed to talk about those things with him. However, because Ruki always sneaked around, learning about things that could have very well destroyed the royal family, Aoi often being the hybrid’s confident afterwards, the sea witch never really had thought that one day, said secrets would actually seal someone’s fate. Ruki, as much as he didn’t consider himself of noble blood due to his mix blood and the way most people treated him, actually was of a high status, and thus was protected more than most sea creatures after the royals. As long as he didn’t do anything to effectively hurt the royal family, there was no reason to stop him from snooping around. Aoi also wasn’t exactly a nobody, which probably was the reason why nobody had stopped Ruki from frequenting him, Kai however…

“I know you’re used to Ruki telling you about literally everything,” said Kai, stopping in front of Aoi’s cave. “But I’m not of his social status, I shouldn’t talk to you about this at all, I’m not even supposed to know about certain things, although I do. My father’s name is helping in that matter, but I’m still a newbie, I need to earn their trust and work my way up myself.”

“I know, Kai, I shouldn’t have insisted,” replied the raven, patting the other’s left forearm. “But if you ever need help, you can always come to me. I’m curious, but if you tell me to not ask questions, then I won’t.”

He opened the door to his cave, snapping his fingers to light up his place with blue flames.

“Just go do your job, I’ll try to come up with a way to bring Ruki back,” he continued, smiling softly at the other.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Aoi,” warned the brunet.

“You know me,” chuckled the raven.

“That’s exactly why I’m saying this,” retorted the merman, rolling his eyes, as he swam away.

The light-blue creature closed his door, shaking his head. The brunet might have disagreed with him, but the raven knew what he had to do to get Ruki back, they didn’t really have a choice in this case. Someone had to turn human in order to get in touch with the hybrid, and Aoi was the best person to do so. He already had been on dry land before, although it was on an uninhabited island. He knew how his body worked on the surface, a merman however… Merpeople had no idea what it was like to have legs, they would have to learn everything from the very beginning, and Aoi knew they had no time for that. They had to act fast before it was too late for Ruki.

He stared in his mirror, tracing with his fingers the white tribal tattoos that marked the sides of his face as well as forehead, spreading to his neck and further down his arms and chest. It would require a lot of energy to cast a spell that would change his appearance completely so he’d blend in with humans, he was very well aware of it, but he could do it, he wasn’t the child of the Great Sea Witch for nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi to some new characters! I just couldn't wait to finally get those two involved!
> 
> I know nothing really moved in this chapter, but it somehow was needed in order to introduce Kai and Aoi 'properly' before they just pop back up in Ruki's life. (btw what do you think of Aoi's appearance? hehe)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The prince leant on the railing of his balcony, smiling softy as he observed Ruki walk around the gardens, looking around in awe, his servant still following him. The hybrid really was like a child discovering everything for the first time, everything seemed to amaze him. It had been two weeks since he had turned human, but he had stepped out of his quarters only a few days ago, and not in broad daylight yet. Before even going out at night Reita had to teach Ruki how everything worked as a human, which the hybrid wasn’t so keen on doing, although he had ended up giving in. Moreover, the prince still was careful about who saw the smaller blond because as much as the other looked very much human, he still was a bit awkward to be around until a few days ago.

Reita chuckled and shook his head when he saw the hybrid trip, the servant rushing to him to catch him before he landed on the ground. Ruki still was getting used to having legs, he could barely run, and the prince had the feeling the strength the sea creature used to have in his original form was gone the moment he had turned human, which must have been frustrating. Reita had witnessed how fast and actually dangerous he could be, even out of water, the first day. Feeling so weak must have been hard for the other.

Ruki was frail in this form, that was something Reita had noticed the past two weeks. He was quite small and thin, but his body still had some subtle curves, quite like a woman actually, which according to the hybrid, had its reasons, but he refused to tell Reita more. His blond hair reached right under his jaw and was slightly shorter in the back, revealing his neck that was covered in tattoos, like pretty much the rest of his body. Going to the bathhouse together had allowed Reita to see more of the other’s naked body, and he had noticed it was covered in tribal tattoos. The tattoo he had in his back, between his shoulder blades, the one Ruki had told him was the symbol of his mother’s family, had even spread. Only the hybrid’s face seemed to have been spared by the ink. Ruki had also told him that all those tattoos were linked to his magic, and that it was actually quite common for sea witches to be covered from head to toes in tattoos, therefore he hadn’t been surprised to have so many when he had turned. The spell he had cast basically turned him into his full sea witch form, not exactly into a human. That also was an explanation to the hybrid’s skin, because if there was one other thing that had jumped to Reita’s eyes, it was Ruki’s skin, although covered by black tattoos, it still was very pale, and it glowed in a way Reita knew was only possible because of the other’s nature, never would a human’s skin glow like that.

The prince looked back at the hybrid, noticing how the moon light made him look almost ethereal, or at least it did in the masked blond’s eyes.

“Reita.”

He turned around when he heard his name, sighing softly when he locked eyes with chocolate-brown orbs.

“What is it?” he asked, walking back inside his chambers with the honey blond following him.

“You should hurry.”

The prince frowned, sitting on his bed. He looked at Uruha who just stood a few feet away from him, twisting his hands. Why did he look so conflicted?

“What are you talking about?”

“Ruki, you need to hurry,” said the witch, still sounding too enigmatic to Reita’s liking.

“Uruha, if you won’t explain why you’re telling me this, just go,” groaned the prince, running a hand over his face. “I know it has nothing to do with the spell, so spill the beans or go away.”

The honey blond looked away, focusing his gaze on the balcony instead, feeling the other witch’s energy. Uruha had felt how Ruki’s feelings had changed over the past two weeks. At first the blond sea creature had been very much reluctant to do anything, although the honey blond could feel how torn the other had really been, but now it was different. With Reita spending all of his time around the hybrid, helping him with human customs as well as teaching him how to walk, the honey blond could feel Ruki’s heart had weakened. He was **_this_** close to falling for the prince, Uruha could feel it, and it somehow pained him. However, it wasn’t necessarily because of his own feelings for the prince that he felt that way. The honey blond had grown up out of a coven, which meant he already was sort of an outcast to witches. Yet, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to help his sisters, and right now, Ruki was in real danger, no matter how much Reita tried to ignore, pretending everything was fine. His love for the prince was great, he only wished for Reita to finally be cured, but that would cost a witch’s life, and the honey blond couldn’t stop himself from feeling responsible for Ruki’s life in that matter.

“Your uncle is starting to get suspicious,” finally whispered Uruha, looking back at the prince.

“Suspicious?” repeated Reita, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“He noticed you aren’t attending the meetings with the king and the queen, and now he’s starting to snoop around,” explained the honey-blond witch. “You need to find some sort of story to explain Ruki’s presence at court, and somehow hide his true nature, because if the duke finds out about what Ruki really is…”

“You don’t need to continue,” interrupted Reita through gritted teeth.

“Reita, you’re closer than you think,” reluctantly said the witch, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Closer than I think? How would you know that?” retorted the prince, rolling his eyes.

“I’m a witch, and you know I’m sensitive to energies, more than others. I was the one to discover your illness after all, not the doctors,” replied Uruha, his eyes turning gold for a moment. Why did the prince always have to dismiss his powers? “I can feel the changes Ruki went through the past few weeks.”

“All right, but how can you be so sure about this?” asked the masked blond, standing up. “Feelings are unstable, you know that.”

“Let’s just say Ruki always had a soft spot for you, he just denied it, he buried it at the back of his mind and heart, but now… Find a way to make him completely give in to you, and you’ll be healed,” uttered the honey blond.

Reita hummed in response, eyeing Uruha’s slightly defensive position. He almost stood the way Ruki used to two weeks ago, when he thought Reita had lied to him the whole time he’d been there.

“You must know how I feel then,” pointed out the prince.

“I do,” sighed Uruha, looking down at his feet before looking back up to lock eyes with the prince. “And I’ll only say this, you’re an idiot.”

Reita softly snorted, shaking his head, ignoring the way the other glared at him.

“You’ll get out of this unharmed, but him… He’ll probably lose his head, one way or another,” said the honey blond, walking to the double doors. “I’m not sure I want to see that.”

“I’ll protect him.”

“Can you, though?” asked the witch, looking over his shoulder.

“I’m the crown prince, and where there’s a will, there’s a way,” replied the prince.

“If you say so,” murmured the other, walking out.

Reita looked at the way the other disappeared in the dark hallway, almost like he had never been in the prince’s chambers. He then let himself fall back on his bed, grabbing his head as he heaved a sigh. If his uncle got involved now, Ruki could very much bid farewell to his head. The duke was ruthless, greedy for power and if he discovered what Ruki’s true nature was, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it. He considered creatures such as witches and mermaids like tools, if it weren’t for the king and queen’s intervention years ago, Reita knew Uruha actually wouldn’t be here right now. His parents had decided to protect Uruha from the duke, it was the only reason why the honey blond was still free. If it hadn’t been for them, he would probably be enslaved, if not already dead once he had served his purpose for the duke.

How was Reita even supposed to explain Ruki’s presence at court? He knew he had to hurry and find a credible story to tell, but the hybrid was everything the king and the queen disliked. He tended to be stubborn, he didn’t show much respect to royalty… But first and foremost, he was a threat to Reita’s current engagement to a foreign princess, for as much as Reita loved Uruha, they knew he would never be anything more than a lover on the side. However, Ruki had a very different aura, he kept a veil of mystery around him, which only attracted people to him. The few times he had stepped out of his quarters, he always had that soft, slightly cocky smile stretching his plump lips, one that seemed to hold unspoken promises. A smile that, for example, had made a few guards stare at him more than they should have to Reita’s liking. He knew very well that the moment his parents would meet Ruki, they’d see a bigger threat in him than in Uruha, especially if Reita was around the hybrid. He couldn’t deny it anymore, he had fallen for the sea creature, something that was completely against his original plan and that made everything so much more complicated than it was supposed to be for the prince.

“You look like you need to unwind a bit, _again_.”

The masked blond snapped out of his musings, looking up to see Ruki leaning against one of the double doors, his arms crossed over his small chest. He wore a burgundy robe tightly tied around his tiny waist. The large sleeves had slightly ridden up, revealing the other’s tattoos.

“Each time I feel Uruha’s presence around you, you’re in that state, what the hell is he doing to you?” asked the hybrid, pushing himself off the door. “You’re always so stressed out.”

“Who said it was Uruha’s fault?” snapped the prince, his eyes widening when the words left his lips. If there was one thing he shouldn't be doing at the moment, it was taking it out on the sea creature. “Sorry,” he whispered, looking down while he clenched his hands.

Ruki frowned, staring at the prince for a few minutes. He seemed to be on the verge of losing it, and the hybrid had heard enough from the servant that followed him everywhere to know that it never was pretty when it happened.

“If it’s about that infamous uncle, I already know,” he ended up saying, taking a few steps towards the prince.

“How?” the other asked, gaping at the smaller blond.

“Your servants can be pretty good spies, and I think they kinda like me, as weird as that is because I could kill them in the blink of an eye,” explained Ruki, shrugging slightly.

“You say that, but you actually like them,” snorted the prince, although he quickly lost his smile. “But you’re right, it’s about my uncle,” he sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

“You should just meet with the king and the queen tomorrow instead of spending the day with me,” said Ruki, sitting next to Reita.

The masked blond tilted his head to the side, his gaze set on the other. Ruki’s behaviour had changed, a lot, Uruha was right. Never would have the sea creature sat so close to Reita before, he was too wary of the prince to get that close. The only time he had dared to do so was in the bathhouse, but he actually was in a position of power in that case, his natural element surrounding them.

“I can’t,” uttered the prince, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Ruki’s ear. “I think that next time I meet with them, I have to tell them about your presence, and give a plausible explanation for it.”

“Can’t I just be a relative of Uruha’s or something?” asked Ruki, closing his eyes when he felt the other’s fingers brush his cheek.

“He doesn’t have any relatives,” muttered Reita, straightening up. “He grew up out of a coven, his mother broke the rules, they were banished,” he explained. “He’s never really been in touch with witches, and saying that you're a witch… That would only endanger you more. My uncle would definitely want to get his hands on you, then.”

“But I’m not human,” retorted the hybrid, his eyes darkening, his face twisted in disgust. “I can’t fake being human, Reita, you know it. I can’t change my eyes,” he said, the prince at those words staring into the other’s sparkling blue eyes. “I can maybe hide my tattoos, but I can’t act like something I’m not.”

“I know, you’ve made it clear the past two weeks, but…”

“I’m already in danger,” cut him off the witch. “Revealing that I’m a witch won’t put me in any more danger, I can defend myself. Hiding that I’m also half merman, I get that, I know what **_your people_** do to merpeople, but I can’t just fake everything.”

Reita sighed, recognising there the same pride Uruha held for his nature, the same fire in those eyes.

“We can’t make you Uruha’s relative though, that’s not going to change, Ruki,” said the prince, leaning back on his hands, staring at the top of his canopy bed. “Telling my parents about you implies that you’ll have to meet them, and they can see right through me. When they see us together they’ll see how I feel about…” the prince stopped himself, realising what he was about to say to the other.

The hybrid’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as he looked at Reita over his shoulder. He must have misheard, his mind must have been playing tricks on him. However, it seemed like colour had drained from Reita’s face, which could only mean that he had heard right. In that moment something seemed to snap in the sea creature, all restrains from the past month now gone.

Sighing softly, Ruki completely climbed on the bed and sat back on his heels. He stared some more at the prince, who had closed his eyes, as if he was hoping that would make his words disappear, although he knew it wouldn’t. Slowly, the hybrid hovered over the other, a hand on the bed, the other softly cupping the other man’s left cheek.

“Just tell them I’m your lover then,” he whispered, lips almost brushing against the other’s.

Reita’s eyes snapped open, amber orbs meeting blue ones, the sparks in Ruki’s eyes seemingly stronger, his pupils dilated in a way the prince had never seen before.

“It’s not so far from the truth, and it will explain your absence,” continued the hybrid, a teasing smile spreading his lips.

The prince could only stare at the other, taken aback by those words. Uruha had really been right? Or was Ruki just playing right now? He guessed he’d never know, because the moment the sea creature removed his hand from his cheek, sitting back on his heels, Reita grabbed him by the arm, yanking him towards him. He turned them over on his bed, getting on top of Ruki before he crashed their lips together, feeling like his whole being was melting when he finally got a taste of the other’s plump lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_Merry (late) Christmas! ♡_ **
> 
> We're back to Ruki and Reita now, and I figured you guys would either hate me for ending this here, or actually be happy with this finally happening, haha. 
> 
> For those who want to see more of Aoi though, don't worry, it's coming! Now that he's been introduced, he won't just stay where I left him. And well, I gotta do something about Uruha's poor little heart, right? *hides*
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter ♡
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


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